By
rmheethyahoo
in
1/2/2012 7:22:53 PM
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It was the best of trails; it was the worst of trails. Well, that may be overstating it a little but the Decatur Trail (now officially named the Dr. Bill Sims Hike-Bike Way) really could be considered two trails. The best part of the trail is the southern end at Point Mallard which is much better in almost every way than the northern end which terminates at Rhodes Ferry Park on the River.
Point Mallard, a large city park with a variety of recreational activities, has plenty of parking. The main access point of the trail is between the Wave Pool and the old Ice Skating Rink (looks like a very large open pavilion). The trail actually continues in both directions from here. To the right, the trail goes around the Wave Pool, past the Water Slides, around the park and into the surrounding neighborhood. This part, which is not currently on the map, contains about a mile of trail. The main part of the trail goes to the left. This part of the trail is hard packed gravel which follows the Flint Creek to the point where it empties into the Tennessee River. There is a little bit of up and down, enough to make it fun but not difficult to navigate. One word of caution, for the most part, the trail is plenty wide enough but there are a few narrow spots and there are some spots where the trail comes within a foot or so of the water. If you are riding or walking with small children, just be sure to keep an eye on them.
Not quite 3 miles from the parking area, the trail changes for the worse. The gravel part of the trail ends, at a paved road (8th street) which is, except for very rare occasions, closed to vehicular traffic. If you turn left at this point, the road leads around the golf course and back to Pt. Mallard and the parking lot. Turning right will take you on to the rest of the trail.
Going down this paved road for a short distance will take you to a set of gates across the road. Go around the gates and there is a small parking area. From here the trail is paved and parallels 8th Street/Pt. Mallard Parkway. To the left, the trail goes a few hundred yards into the Pt. Mallard Campground. The main trail goes off to the right. For the next couple of miles the trail is not too bad with a row of very tall trees on one side and the road and very nice houses on the other. Just past the trees, the trail veers off to the right, goes past a power sub-station and ends up on Market Street. Here is where the trail gets confusing. A separate paved trail parallels Market Street and some railroad tracks for a couple hundred yards. The Traillink map shows this trail following Market Street all the way to Rhodes Ferry Park. While this is a short-cut and has many advantages, it is not the official route of the trail. Officially, when the trail intersects Grant Street, it follows bike lanes (on each side of the road), past Church Street to 16th Ave. At this point, the trail again is separate from the road but cuts back over and parallels Church Street. At the intersection of Somerville Road, you to cross both Church and Somerville where the trail again parallels Church until you get to 10th Ave. where the trail cuts a block north back over to Market Street. Once back on Market Street, the trail heads west under the Tennessee River Bridge, behind the Holiday Inn and on to Rhodes Ferry Park.
If you decide to take the short-cut down Market Street, realize that this is an industrial section of town. There are a couple of plants here including the Meow-Mix cat food plant. Although traffic is very light, what traffic there is is largely big, heavy trucks. There are also about a half-dozen railroad tracks (spurs into the plants) which angle across the road. Just remember to cross these tracks at a perpendicular angle on a bike.
Rhodes Ferry Park is a small city park with nice views of the Tennessee River and both the automobile and railroad bridges. Just west of Rhodes Ferry is a walkway over the railroad tracks heading north over the river. If you are starting the trail at Rhodes Ferry, there are currently no signs identifying where the trail is. You need to head out the park to the east toward the automobile bridge and behind the Holiday Inn. For a while, the trail is in the median of the road between the lamp posts but before going under the bridge, it is just north of the road.
All in all, I like this trail. The Point Mallard end has some beautiful views of the river and its abundant wildlife and is a fun trail to ride. The northern end near Rhodes Ferry is marked with bicycle stick figures painted on the road but, as of this writing, these markings are rather old and faded. There are very few signs anywhere on the trail. If you want to ride this trail, I recommend starting at Pt. Mallard and heading north as far as you like, then turning back and returning.
By
rmheethyahoo
in
12/29/2011 11:46:23 AM
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The Big Cove Greenway Trail is part of the Greenway trail system of the city of Huntsville. It is paved, relatively well maintained and very popular with the locals, especially when the weather is good. The trail has a nice mix of shade and open areas.
The best access for the trail is at the at the south end at the Hays Nature Preserve. From the parking lot, two trails are accessable. The Flint River Greenway heads south over the bridge over the Flint River. The Big Cove Creek Greenway heads north winding through some marshy area and follows Big Cove Creek into the Hampton Cove area of Huntsville.
At the mid-way point in the trail, there is a small park (behind the Publix shopping center) where there is also some parking. The trail then loops up, crosses the creek, then loops back down and around, under the Eastern Bypass (road) and comes back up by the Hampton Cove Elementary School. At this point, the path splits in two. To the east is the Little Cove Road Greenway which follows the Eastern Bypass for about 5 miles. Continuing south, the Big Cove Creek Greenway goes around some fields by the school and goes for another mile or so skirting a sub-division of very nice homes. Currently, the north end of the trail ends at one of the cul-de-sacs of this sub-division. There is trail access here but not really any parking.
Overall, this is a great trail for biking or walking. It is popular with the locals. The only caution I would give is that the trail, especially the southern end around the Hays Preserve and the Flint River is somewhat prone to flooding after very heavy rains
By
rmheethyahoo
in
11/12/2011 12:42:28 AM
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Although it is not too long, this is a very scenic and beautiful trail. In the 2nd week of November, I rode from the Mark's Creek Trailhead (near Ashland City) all the way to the Cheatham Dam Campground. Although the fall color was, unfortunately, well past its peak, at least you had much better views of the river with all the leaves gone.
There is a steep embankment of high hills which run along the river. This trail is generally about halfway up with tall rock outcrops on one side of the trail and nice views of the river on the other. Being a rail trail, it is very flat and doesn't gain (or lose) much elevation throughout. There are small trestles/bridges over several side streams with one large trestle over Sycamore Creek. From here there are beautiful views of both the creek and the Cumberland River.
About a half mile north of Sycamore Creek, the paved portion of the trail ends at Chapmansboro Road. There is a parking area there at the Eagle Pass Trailhead. If you continue north, the trail is hard-packed gravel. It is not recommended for road bikes but fat tires can make it without much problem.
The 2 ½ mile section of trail for Eagle Pass to the Cheatham Dam Campground is similar to the paved section. Just north of Eagle Pass, there is an interesting structure that I wasn’t sure what it was. It looks like a small stone/mortar arch shaped room with a wooden door. It looked very old and I guessed that it was some type of storage shed for the railroad.
One word of caution: About a half mile from the north end of this section of trail, there is a bridge missing. It looks like it has been gone for a long time. The trail veers toward the river and goes down to the creek bed (which was dry when I saw it) then goes back up to the old railroad bed and the rest of the trail. It is not really hard to get by this section but there is no warning and the trail down to the creek bed is fairly steep and rocky. I made it ok but next time I will walk my bike through this section. It really isn’t bad but it can surprise you if you aren’t looking for it.
At the north end of the trail is the Cheatham Lake Lock A Campground. It was closed when I came through so I had to ride another couple of hundred yards to get to a point where the roads were open. The campground is part of an Army Corps of Engineers Recreational area here. If you keep going north from the campground, past the swimming area (in the river), you will reach Cheatham Dam. It is about a mile and a half from the campground.
All in all, the Cumberland River Bicentennial Trail is a very pretty rail-trail. I look forward to riding it again in the spring when the flowers are in bloom. I just wish it were a little longer.
By
rmheethyahoo
in
5/15/2011 7:23:32 PM
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Aldridge Creek is a small creek running south from the Jones Valley area of Huntsville to the Tennessee River. The Aldridge Creek Greenway is a walking/biking path that follows this stream from Mountain Gap Road to the Ditto Landing Marina. It is an asphalt/concrete path that is very flat throughout.
On Mountain Gap Road is Ken Johnston Park (right by Publix) which has parking, restrooms and a small playground. Currently, the north end of the trail is just across the creek from the park. About a mile south the greenway passes under Hobbs Road. A mile further south, it passes under Green Cove Road, loops back around, goes over the bridge and resumes its southward path down the east bank of the creek. After another mile, the greenway narrows as it rounds a curve and goes under the railroad bridge and Hobbs Island Road. Slow down and be careful as this is a somewhat blind curve. From here the greenway turns east, ending at the entrance to Huntsville's Ditto Landing Marina. NOTE: This last segment is somewhat suseptible to flooding after heavy rains. Although Aldridge Creek has a long history of flooding, the City of Huntsville has done a lot of work to alleviate that problem (part of that solution created this greenway). This southernmost section is the only part that I have seen flooding.
Although the Ditto Landing entrance (on Hobbs Island Rd.) is officially the end of the Aldridge Creek Greenway, if you turn south and go into the marina and go through the short loop road in the campground, you will find the western end of another trail, the Tennessee River Greenway which goes east along the river for almost another mile to the Madison County Marina. Adding this path to the Aldridge Creek greenway makes for a ride/walk of about 5 miles.
The Aldridge Creek Greenway is a well used path through the suburbs of south Huntsville. On a nice day, you will find walkers, bikers, skaters and all sorts of non-motorized transportation. It is partially shaded. The creek is beautiful as is Green Mountain off in the distance to the east. I have enjoyed biking this path many times and hope to continue to do so in the future.
By
rmheethyahoo
in
5/14/2011 11:43:36 PM
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The old Mammoth Cave RR was a short rail line designed to bring tourists from the main road (near present day I-65) to Mammoth Cave. The railroad is long gone but the National Park Service has turned the old RR bed into the Mammoth Cave Railroad Bike & Hike Trail. This trail follows most of the old RR line but not all of it. Part of the old RR bed is now under the main park entrance road to the trail deviates from that path. This makes part of the trail a lot more hilly than normal for a rail trail. Instructions on the sign post point out parts of the trail where you must dismount your bike and walk up (and down) the steepest parts. I did walk up a couple of parts but they were fairly short (a few hundred yards at most). You may be able to ride down these parts but only if you use your brakes to keep under control. The path gravel is loose enough that you can go too fast or you will find yourself in trouble.
The path is packed gravel. While fat tires are a must, this is not a mountain bike trail. I rode it on my hybrid/comfort bike.
I started at the trailhead near the park entrance sign. (I found out later that this was not the end of the trail but was very close. As you enter the park from I-65 you will see the parking on the left.). From the trailhead to Diamond Cave (a privately owned cave about a mile up the trail) the trail goes back into the woods and is somewhat hilly but not that bad. After Diamond Cave, you get to the steepest parts of the ride. It really isn't that bad if you take your time. There are signs on the trail warning of the steep sections.
The middle section of the trail basically follows the park's main entrance road but was mostly far enough back into the woods were the traffic was not dangerous or distracting. This section of the trail was the part that appeared to most closely follow the train route. It was flat and mostly straight. The bike trail crossed the road a couple of times so be careful there. At Sloan's crossing, there is a short nature trail around a pond.
Going north of Sloan Crossing Pond, the trail crosses a long curved trestle bridge. This appears to be a new bridge but a sign at one end says that there used to be an old RR trestle at that location. From here the trail continues north ending at the Camp Store near the park Visitor's Center. The only remaining Mammoth Cave Railroad engine and a passenger car are on display.
All in all, I liked this trail. It was a challenge at times since it was not as flat and straight as most rail trails but in was a nice trail through some very beautiful country.